The main sources of electricity consumption in Australian homes, heating and cooling, hot water, pools, saunas, EVs and everyday appliances, and which loads solar offsets effectively versus which need a battery.
Key findings
- Heating and cooling is the single largest load, around 40% of total household energy.
- Hot water is second: 3 to 6 kWh/day for electric storage, less for a heat pump system.
- A pool pump adds 1.5 to 4.5 kWh/day; pool heat pump another 5 to 15 kWh in season.
- A sauna adds 3 to 6 kWh per session. Infrared uses about half the energy of traditional steam.
- An EV at 15,000 km/year adds 8 to 12 kWh/day, roughly doubles your hot water load.
What uses what
Heating and cooling, ~40% of household energy
Reverse-cycle air conditioning is the dominant electrical heating and cooling load. Ducted systems use significantly more than split systems. Solar offsets daytime cooling effectively; evening heating is best paired with a battery.
Hot water, 3 to 6 kWh/day
Electric storage hot water is one of the easiest loads to shift onto solar, schedule the element to run mid-day. A heat pump hot water system uses roughly a third of the energy and pairs even better with solar.
Pool pump and heating, 1.5 to 15 kWh/day
Pool pumps are perfect for solar, schedule them to run during generation hours. Pool heat pumps in winter are large loads and can dominate household consumption during the swimming season.
EV charging, 8 to 12 kWh/day
An EV is effectively a second household-sized load. With a smart charger that follows solar surplus, the marginal cost is close to zero. Charged from the grid at peak rates it adds $600 to $800/year.
Sources
- YourHome, Australia's guide to environmentally sustainable homes · yourhome.gov.au
- Australian Government, Energy Rating, energyrating.gov.au · energyrating.gov.au